After the post-apocalyptic and strange world of Sweet Tooth, I was looking for something a little bit timelier. And with all of the sexual harassment allegations flooding Hollywood, a book that took that topic head-on seemed just right.

Zub and Morissette-Phan weave a bloody (and tragic) tale of revenge that really deals in all of the things that make for a quality comic book.

Farrah Durante is a middle-aged actress hunting for her next gig in an industry where youth trumps experience. Her frustrations become an emotional lure for something horrifying out beyond the water...something ready to exact revenge on the shallow celebrity-obsessed culture that's lead her astray.

The entertainment industry feeds on our insecurities, desires, and fears. You can't toy with those kinds of primal emotions without them biting back...

SPOILERS FOR GLITTERBOMB VOL. 1 BELOW

What I learned about Comic Book Storytelling in Writing

Man, this was a lean story. There’s not a character or plot point that doesn’t pay off. Zub is master-planner. What’s more, he’s a master-designer. For instance, in the second scene of issue 1, there’s a character that plays a role in the scene. She comes back around in issue 4, calling back to her first appearance, but also adding to the final issue of the series in a relevant and new way.

Not one inch of this story is fat, nor is any scene or character wasted or not designed for maximum impact.

What I learned about Comic Book Storytelling in Art

Morissette-Phan’s art has excellent pacing. He knows how to slow down and speed up pages and scenes. There are a few decompressed scenes in the book that slow the narrative down just enough to help the reader really connect with and for the struggle of the protagonist. There are also scenes of transformation and realization that use the same decompressed strategy to drive home the weight—emotional or otherwise—of the images.